Sports
Weekly Sports Roundup, July 25-31
Summer sports continued last week as July hit the home stretch. Here's a look at how the locals fared.
The final week of July proved to be a big one for Wakefield summer sports, featuring a no-hitter by Jarrod Marchesi of the Wakefield Merchants, a trip to the Chairman’s Cup semifinal for American Legion Harry E. Nelson Post 63, and local youth teams in action in the Eastern Basketball League.
American Legion Playoffs
After defeating Malden, 9-5, in their postseason opener, Post 63 downed Reading by a 7-1 margin to reach the quarterfinals. With a trip to the Chairman’s Cup semifinals hanging in the balance, and North Chelmsford looming on the schedule, the stage appeared to be set for a bitter and decisive struggle for a ticket to the next round.
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Not so fast.
Perhaps it was the heat, or perhaps it was down to not having enough personnel. Whatever the case, there would be no battle between Post 63 and North Chelmsford, as Vinal Post 313 forfeited the game, sending Wakefield through to face Billerica Estey Post 268 on July 27 for the right to play for the cup. Post 268, undefeated in the Legion playoffs and 14-7 overall, quickly ended Wakefield Post 63’s season with a 12-0 rout behind a one-hit gem from Billerica’s Walker O’Connor.
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Post 63 ends the summer with a record of 11-11, and has much to be proud of as its run during the last few weeks of the regular season and into the Chairman’s Cup tournament displayed both quality and class.
Intercity Baseball League
The week began with a rainout on July 25, postponing the Merchants scheduled clash with the Arlington Trojans, but by the end of the week, the Merchants would be squarely back in second place and riding a wave of momentum following Marchesi’s no-no against the Mooney Dental Tanners on July 29. Marchesi (3-3) struck out nine opposing batsmen on the day, while issuing no free passes, and was separated from perfection only by a second-inning infield error. Wakefield won the game 7-0, as the bats boomed for the Merchants. James Ramsey (3 RBIs), Lorenzo Papa (solo home run) and Mike Sorrentino (2-for-4) provided all the requisite punch to procure the win. Marchesi, a former standout at Everett High, has won 23 games for Wakefield since joining the team in 2006, with a career earned run average of 1.78 over 252.1 innings of work.
Wakefield’s other games last week were both against the Reading Bulldogs, in a two-game home-and-home series on July 26 and 27. In the first leg, Wakefield manager Dave Ellegood sent ace moundsman Darren Bisso to the hill to square off against Nick Kelley and the result was a nifty pitcher’s duel that required the astute interventions of the Papa brothers to resolve. Joe Papa homered, while Lorenzo Papa also collected an RBI to propel the Merchants to a 3-1 win over the Bulldogs at Reading High. Jason Roth also posted an RBI for Wakefield. Bisso (5-1) struck out six while walking none over seven frames to outpace Kelley and Reading.
On July 27, Reading returned the favor, downing the Merchants, 5-4, despite a strong offensive showing from Wakefield’s bats. Andy Hartung and James Ramsey each plated two runs and collected a double apiece, while Sorrentino, the ICL’s leading hitter with an average of .442, collected a his third triple of the season in the losing effort.
The Merchants are now 16-8 with 32 points, just one point above the Andre Chiefs, and sitting in second place, which figures to be where most of the remaining drama figures to be, as the table-topping Lexington Blue Sox are 13 points clear of Wakefield with 45 points and look a good bet to run away with the league this year, with just a handful of games remaining.
Eastern Basketball League
In the boys entering ninth grade division, Wakefield (5-1) had a tough week as its only contest of the week ended in a 63-20 rout at the hands of Masco at Beverly’s Endicott College on July 28. The result was no better for Wakefield (5-3) in the boys entering eighth grade division, although the final score was a bit closer. Beverly defeated Wakefield 61-56 on July 25 at Galvin Middle School.
On the girls side of the equation, the Wakefield Hawks (3-3) lost a pair of games last week, falling to GBL, 36-33, on July 27 at Beverly High and 27-20 against PABC the following day, also at Beverly High. In the entering eighth grade second division, the league-leading Wakefield Warriors (6-2) lost its only game of the week, falling 28-20 against the Wildcatz on July 27 at Beverly High.
